


Darkness Of The Dawn

by Onigirigiri



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Nightmares, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-04 14:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13366713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onigirigiri/pseuds/Onigirigiri
Summary: For three nights in a row Shiro is continuously being haunted by night terrors. Each night he drifts off into a world that's similar to his own, as he continues to be tormented by these terrors it gets harder for him to determine what's real and what's not. Will these dreams drive him mad or will someone be there to comfort him?





	1. On this road now

Nights like this were pretty normal for Keith, he would fall asleep in his bed alone and then sometime in the middle of the night another person would end up beside him. Keith sighed with a bit of annoyance and opened his eyes to see who it was, and as usual, it was Shiro. Shiro rolled over towards Keith and scooted closer towards him.

“Was it another nightmare?” Keith said as he propped his head on his hand. 

Shiro shook his head. “No. I just . . .” He made a noise of discontent. “I just couldn’t sleep. So I thought it’d be better if I tried to here.”

“Alright,” Keith moved head off of his arm and rested his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “If you do, don’t be afraid to wake me up.” 

Shiro brushed Keith’s hand off of his shoulder. “Thanks.” He mumbled and turned his back to Keith. Shiro inhaled deeply and found himself drifting off to sleep.

Not long after drifting to sleep he found himself aimlessly walking along the streets of his hometown. Suddenly the hairs on the back of Shiro’s neck began to stand up. Goosebumps began to crawl up his skin as he heard the foot steps behind him. He slowly turned his head and saw three hooded figures standing underneath the illuminated traffic light. 

He listened to his impulses and started to run as fast as he could. Each time his feet touched the ground the footsteps behind him became louder. Panic shook his core as he tried to look for a way to lose those behind him. Shiro turned his head looking for an exit and saw his house just a few steps ahead of him. He rushed to his house and nearly broke his key while trying to shake open the door.

As soon as he made it into his house he found himself back on Zarkon’s ship. “No!” He shouted in desperation and covered his head with his hands. “I can’t be back here. I can’t be back here. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I- I- I- I- . . . I can’t.” Shiro slid down against the cold metal wall and pulled his knees to his chest while he tried to catch his breath. 

Time was something he didn’t have to spare, soon the figures would be back for him. Shiro screamed in anger and forced himself to get up. Then the footsteps could be heard again. He looked around and saw no sign of anyone around him, but each step appeared to slowly grow closer. As he stood still his limbs began to shake, Shiro took a deep breath and started to run again. 

A Galra soldier appeared in front of Shiro and grabbed tightly onto his arm. In a state of fight or flight he flipped the soldier over and ran down the hall adjacent to him.

Another soldier in the distance yelled into their radio, “The warrior is heading your way, be armed and be ready to stop him at all costs!”

A group of Galra soldiers marched towards Shiro in both directions. He panicked briefly and saw a door spontaneously appear in front of him. As Shiro pulled open and rushed through the door he found himself back on the Castle of Lions. The door slammed shut behind him, he looked around to see that he was in the shuttle bay. 

The bright lights began to flicker around him and a robotic voice spoke. "Power saving mode on, reducing light fixtures to 45%." The lights dimmed drastically causing him to freeze for a brief moment.

Shiro closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. As he exhaled he could finally feel his heart rate begin to slow down. Now he felt calm enough to open his eyes. Slowly he began to turn in the direction towards the door that would lead him back into the lobby. Before he could fully turn around he felt a cold chill creep up his spine. Instantly he swallowed hard began to dig his finger nails into the palms of his hands.

"What now?" He whispered and tried to get the courage to see what was near him. He looked up from the ground and saw one of the hooded figures from when he was running towards his house.

"It's just a dream." He muttered to himself. "It's just a dream. It's just a dream." Each word began to sound more like a desperate plea. The exhaustion in his face could be seen clearly.

A guttural laugh erupted deep from within the figures stomach and poured out of its mouth. The beings yellow eyes illuminated the long distance between them. Of course, this humanoid figure would be blocking Shiro's only exit . . . Or was it?

Without a moment of hesitation Shiro turned around and began to run down the launch pad. Shiro's pulse began to thump rapidly and resonate throughout his whole body. The sound of his heartbeat continued to drown out the gasps he made while he ran.

Footsteps could be heard gaining up behind him. Shiro gulped as he knew this was his only way out. He began to slow down as he drew closer to the edge. He turned around once again so he could see the distance between him and the hooded person with yellow eyes.

"Nowhere to run." The voice said in a mere whisper that could easily be missed. With that Shiro took in another deep breath and continued to walk backwards.  
Slowly he counted aloud in order to prepare himself for the fall. 

"Five"  
He takes another step.

"Four"  
He swallows hard.

"Three"  
His hands begin to shake.

"Two"  
He grits his teeth and forces his eyes shut in order to get himself ready for the fall.

"On---"  
His voice trails off as his right foot takes the first step off of the runways edge.

Suddenly he jolts awake due to a gentle touch from his friend. Keith could see the sweat dripping down Shiro's forehead. Keith's furrowed brows and pursed lips softened out as his friend started to regain awareness.

"I uh" a sigh of defeat escaped Keith's lips "I don't know if this will help, but I can listen if you want to talk about it."

Shiro scooted closer to his friend and mumbled. "No it's okay, I just, I just wanted to be next to someone."

A small smile moved on Keith's face as he slowly inched closer and carefully began to trace lines up and down Shiro's arm. Keith cleared his throat, "My dad used to do this to get me to fall asleep after I had nightmares. I hope it helps."

Shiro nodded his head and slowly began relax his muscles. His breathing slowed down as he was being lulled to sleep. "Thank you." Shiro muttered softly and closed his eyes.

Keith smiled in response and also felt a sense of tranquility wash over him. Once he knew Shiro was a sleep he withdrew his arm and laid close to Shiro’s side. The two fell back asleep without having any nightmares trying to torment them throughout the rest of the night.


	2. Just Listen To Your Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night II

A light knock tapped on Shiro’s door and a familiar voice spoke, “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” He said back loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. They walked in and Shiro looked up from his book. “What’s troubling you princess?” He showed off a toothy grin.

Allura instantly rolled her eyes and chuffed. “Nothing now since you have that look on your face.” She walked over to Shiro’s bed and sat on the edge of it. 

Shiro closed his book and placed it on his nightstand. He rested his head on his hand and tried to reassure the princess that he was ready to listen. “I’m all ears.”

Allura’s brows scrunched together as she tilted her head looking confused. “No, you aren’t. You only have two of them. What does that even mean?” Her voice was filled with confusion.

Shiro let out a breathed laugh. “Don’t take it literally. It just means that I’m here to listen.” He continued to laugh while she rolled her eyes again.  
Allura lightly hit Shiro’s shoulder and her smile faded instantly. “It’s just that—” While Allura continued to speak her words began to sound as if they were being drowned out by white noise. Shiro tried his best to keep his attention onto her words, but they just continued to grow distant and fade out into the air.

He even squinted his eyes as he watched her lips form the words that were disappearing before they could ever reach his ears. Trying to focus his gaze was probably his worst decision of that night. Each time her mouth continued to move he found his eyes growing heavier. 

Sleep was calling to him, but he wanted to be there for his friend. He tried so hard to be present and attentive to her but he just couldn’t seem to do it. The exhaustion from the lack of sleep and night terrors were eating away at him. He fought so hard to be that friend Allura could rely on, but tonight he couldn’t be that friend. His head slipped off of his hand and he quickly fell asleep.

Allura looked at Shiro for a moment and decided that she needed to stay there for him. After all the times he listened to her late night rambles, the least she could do was sit and make sure that he was finally able to sleep peacefully. A small smile spread out on her face as she covered him up with his blanket.

Abruptly, Shiro found himself shielding his eyes from the bright neon lights that decorated the streets of the city near his hometown. Shiro moved his arms away from his eyes as he looked around. The streets were desolate and void of any sign of life, normally they were bustling with hundreds of people rushing along the sidewalk to get to their next destination. The city was void of the noises that polluted the air and added to the busy atmosphere. There were no hover bikes or cars that could be seen or heard in the darkness.

The emptiness made Shiro uneasy. He began to scratch his right arm repetitively and shift the weight on his legs consistently. His body began to tense up as the cold air brushed against the nape of his neck. A chuff of laughter could be heard behind him. 

Shiro dug his fingers into his arm as he turned his head. He saw the three hooded figures again, all he could see in the distance was the middle figures bright yellow eyes. The rest of their faces remained distorted and could hardly be recognized.

“ **Go.** ” An unfamiliar voice whispered. “ **Now!** ” The voice said urgently.

It made Shiro turn quickly as the hooded figures began to run towards him. Shiro darted towards a familiar market alleyway and knocked down some of the stands behind him. He pushed himself and fought against the exhaustion that was overwhelming him. His legs burned as if he had been running for miles. He looked behind him and saw the figures jump over the obstacles, which he struggled to knock down, with ease.

Panic quickly spread throughout his veins and forced his hands to shake while he ran. He frantically looked around for a quick exit. His eyes lit up as he ran towards a shop door. Once his hand reached the door handle his body froze.

The quite voice spoke again, “ **Don’t.** ”

From where he stood he could hear movement coming from within the shop. As he held onto the door handle he could feel pressure from the other side as if someone was getting ready to open it. Shiro quickly glanced to his side and saw that the figures were no longer chasing him.

He then shook his head and quickly backed up from the door. He looked around once more and he perked up as he saw a familiar alleyway adjacent to him. A feeling of relief washed over him as he started towards that direction. 

“Home…” He muttered to himself as he went down the alleyway. 

If he could keep up the pace for a while longer he would be able to run to the safety of his house. Shiro continued down the alleyway and found that it descended to a winding set of stairs. He rubbed nervously at the back of his neck and prepared himself for the run.

While he continued to run he noticed that each street light guiding him down the path slowly began to disappear. Each step he made forced his muscles to tense up, he grimaced and continued to push his body that was screaming with exhaustion.

As he made it through his last set of steps he looked up and saw that the torii gates looming over him were slowly being consumed by moss. Each step crunched beneath his feet from being covered in dull red paint chips. Shiro tried to control his breathing until he heard the sound of paint chips crunching slowly echoing behind him. 

Once he finished his journey down the stairs and walked along the eroded stone path he was greeted by an old shrine. It stood before him worn down and appeared to be forgotten just like the torii gates, moss and vines had also reclaimed this building. 

Yet again Shiro wished to take refuge in this building but was stopped by the quite voice. “ **Look . . . Down.** ”

Shiro obeyed the voice and noticed that the shimenawa rope laid right before his feet. He instantly looked up and realized that the beams holding it had rotted away and collapsed. 

The voice whispered again, “ **No longer safe… Run. Now.** ”

Within seconds distant voices could be heard. Shiro stumbled away as quickly as he could to get further away from the spine chilling laughter that echoed against the trees. Shiro ran behind the shrine and found himself deeper within the woods. 

His eyes adjusted to the darkness again as the moonlight washed over the trees and underbrush surrounding him. All that could be heard were Shiro’s rapid gasps for breath. He placed his hand against the tree in order to hold himself up. His body continued to shake excessively, he continued gasping for air but still couldn’t catch his breath. He knew he was lost.

These feelings continued to overwhelm Shiro, the exhaustion was wearing his psyche thin. The sounds of the Earth rustling around him caused for another wave of panic to overcome him. He began to tremble and fear consumed him to his very core. His eyes began to sting once the tears started to overflow from his eyes. He could no longer move, he was stuck trying to support himself against the tree.

In the distance a familiar voice was carried by the wind and rustled through the leaves. Shiro closed his eyes and focused on the rhythm that was being sung. As the hymn reached his ears he was lulled into a sense of comfort and security. The song was so soft and sweet that it seemed to drive away the terror that spread throughout his veins.

Slowly, he moved forward in the direction where the singing was coming from. As he made his way from the trees a warm glow surrounded him. In mere seconds his eyes opened up to see Allura leaning over him with her eyes closed. 

The back of her index finger was gently moving from up his chin towards his temple and back down again. Her eyes opened once her melody had finished. She looked down at Shiro and spoke, “Why didn’t you mention that you were having night terrors again?”

Shiro looked away from her and sighed. “I didn’t think it was that important.” His speech trailed off as he refused to look at her directly.

Allura sighed and brushed the hair out of his face forcing him to make eye contact. “Shiro, I know you want to be there for me but, you also need to be honest with yourself. You’re one of the first people I talk to whenever I’m upset! Friends don’t lie, Shiro.” She pouted for a brief moment.

Shiro huffed and met her gaze directly. “I know, Keith got at me too.” 

Allura chuckled at his statement. “As he should have!” She smiled and started to run her fingers through his hair. “You know, that song was something my father would sing to me whenever I had night terrors.” She laughed again. “Even Coran learned the songs.”

Shiro kept a smile on his face. “Oddly, that’s something I can imagine.”

Allura perked up and held his face, “Maybe Coran and I could sing you to sleep?”

The smile instantly faded from Shiro’s face. “That’s a kind gesture, but I really don’t need it.” He laughed briefly.

The smile on Allura’s face beamed at his reaction. “Fine, I guess I’ll just have to sing you back to sleep tonight then.” Her fingers went back to running through his hair. 

This time Shiro didn’t protest. His tired eyes began to close again while Allura sang the Altean lullaby. Her voice calmed him down again and allowed for him to drift off to a peaceful sleep. Once Shiro was finally asleep Allura got up from his bed and tucked him in. She gently kissed his forehead. 

“Sweet dreams.” She whispered. She then shut off his lamp and walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to believe that Shiro is from a futuristic Japan, kinda like San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. But, ya know interpret it as you will. 
> 
> Also, thanks for reading! It really means a lot. Feel free to comment and all that jazz. 
> 
> See you around for the last chapter!
> 
> (Side note: I wish I could just upload this with a word file because boy oh boy do I hate having to fix it)

**Author's Note:**

> This was heavily inspired by Sampha's song Blood On Me, if you haven't heard it check it out. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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